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Schneiderlin: Don’t rule Manchester United out of title race

Morgan Schneiderlin has warned onlookers to write off Manchester United at their peril amid concerns about the side’s lack of goals.

Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace meant they have now played in excess of five hours of football, including against Championship opposition in Middlesbrough, and failed to score.

Their stuttering form has taken them four points behind joint league leaders Manchester City and Arsenal and prompted suggestions that the title will soon be out of reach, but the French midfielder is adamant that as long as they swiftly return to winning games that will not be the case.

“[Goals] will come if we keep believing,” Schneiderlin told United’s official website.

“We will keep clean sheets, that’s not a problem, and we will win games but we need to make sure it comes quickly.

“We have the players to score goals and we will score goals. It’s not a worry for me. We’ve had the chances and sometimes it’s just a matter of taking the time to make a good choice.

“It was one of those days when we needed to be strong. We are disappointed not to win. We came to win the game so we need to make sure we win the next game.

“Overall, when we look at the last three games, we played very good against Everton, played good against [Manchester] City and should have won as we were the only team pushing to win and [against Palace] we’ve drawn so we could have had nine points.

“After the Arsenal game, we’ve shown good character and spirit. We want to win the title so, to win games, we need to score goals. We’ll have to work hard and hope we bounce back.

“Of course we are [in the title race]. It’s still early as we head into November so there are a lot of games to be played but we are there. It doesn’t matter if you are second, third, fourth or fifth in November. What matters is to be first at the end of May and win the games.

“Every team is going to go through a period where they don’t score goals and are going to be unlucky. It will happen to the teams in front of us for sure. It’s up to us to win games and overtake those teams.”

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